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Seasoned theatregoers are reportedly upset that fans of The Hobbit who
have come to see Martin Freeman starring in Richard III in the West
End are killing the mood by clapping — and even cheering — his opening
soliloquy. “Can these Malteser-chomping hooligans not wait till the end to
applaud themselves for being in the same room as Bilbo bleedin’ Baggins?”
goes the argument. (I’m condensing it a tad). Others — the playwright
Christopher Hampton among them — suggest that new audiences must be allowed
to express themselves freely like what they did in Shakespeare’s day: come
on, chill out, it’s all just showbiz,